Nine operas, classical music and jazz concerts, talks by MPs and scientists at Buxton International Festival

There are nine operas over the course of the festival, which runs from July 10-27, including four chamber opera commissions.

Concerts by Tallis Scholars, The King’s Singers, Benjamin Grosvenor, Toby Spence, Imogen Cooper and The English Concert also feature in the line-up.

This year’s jazz musicians include Clare Teal and Rumer and the big names on books include Sarah Rainsford, Rev Richard Coles, Jeremy Hunt, Diane Abbott and Simon Jenkins.

Opera highlights include three French operas: Ambroise Thomas’ Hamlet (last seen at the Opera House in 1980) played by The Orchestra of Opera North; Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s Orphée with Vache Baroque and Francis Poulenc’s La Voix Humaine (half a double-bill alongside Leonard Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti in collaboration with Norwich Theatre).

There is also WA Mozart’s The Impresario presented by Opera Zuid from the Netherlands; and four eagerly-awaited chamber opera commissions for 2025, entitled Shorts, from creators whose writing credits include Netflix and Channel 4. The Shorts operas are called Inevitable, Life Gets Stretched, Disorderly House and Tears Are Not Meant to Stay Inside.

Michael Williams, chief executive of Buxton International Festival, said: “This year, we honour the festival’s founder Malcolm Fraser, by staging a new production of Ambroise Thomas’ Hamlet, last seen in Buxton Opera House for Fraser’s fledgling festival in 1980, helping to launch the careers of opera superstars Sir Thomas Allen and Donald Maxwell.”

Adrian Kelly, the festival’s artistic director added: “While opera is an art form with a rich history, it is vital that we invest in its future too. In commissioning Shorts, Buxton is offering opportunities to the next generation of opera makers, both on stage and behind the scenes. We are delighted to be working with these exciting young creatives.”

Classical music concerts will include the Sacconi Quartet playing 150-year-old Ravel, Roderick Williams, Paula Murrihy and Chloë Hanslip. Adrian said: “Last year’s concert series enjoyed unprecedented success and we have done our best to outdo last year’s offering with the return of some outstanding artists who have been regular visitors to the festival, plus some new faces.”

The jazz programme ranges from Latin, Brazilian, soul to big bands, folk and world. Neil Hughes, jazz director says: “I am delighted to present a jazz programme that spans the generations, from the 100-year-old musicality of Oscar Peterson right up to the brand-new work of today. In jazz, our connections back to the roots of the music continue to inspire us - the form, the passion and the tunes.”

The theme of this year’s books programme is ‘extraordinary women’ with Baroness Lola Young of Hornsey among the line-up. Guest speakers will include

scientists Masud Husain and Sumity-Paul Choudhury, explorer Erling Kagge, sketch writer John Crace and radio presenter Patroc Trelawny.

Books director, Vicky Dawson comments: “I cannot do justice to the talent and authority in our books line up for 2025. Please come and hear for yourselves unique storytelling, challenging ideas and deep personal experience from the serious to the (slightly) frivolous. All by way of frostbite, positive thinking and public service. Expect emotion, outrage, some laughter and certainly entertainment in literary form.”

The festival’s operas, concerts and talks will be held at venues including Buxton Opera House, Palace Hotel, St John’s Church and Poole’s Cavern.

For the full programme, visit www.buxtonfestival.co.uk. Tickets are now on sale, call 01298 72190 or visit www.buxtonoperahouse.org.uk